December 22, 2019 Text:
Matthew 1:18-25
Dear Friends in Christ,
In
Adult Bible Class we are doing a study on Joseph – the stepfather of
Jesus. I challenged the class to find
hymns/songs that speak of Joseph. In our
hymnal you won’t find him in any of our Christmas hymns. He does have a verse on saints in LSB
#517. There are a few songs on the Internet
and one member e-mailed a song entitled, “It Wasn’t His Child.” It has this line, “It wasn’t his child it was
God’s child.”
We
don’t sing hymns about Joseph and there are no postage stamps of him holding
the Christ child. But Matthew begins the
Christmas story with a Joseph problem.
What is he going to do about a wife carrying another man’s child? Joseph is just living life and boom, in an
instant, things change. Have you had a
Joseph moment? Are you living a Joseph
moment? We are going to need some help
here . . .
“THE
CHRISTMAS PRESENCE OF GOD”
Joseph
and Mary are betrothed to each other. It
is like an engagement but in their cultural times it is different from
ours. P.E. Kretzmann explains: “As a rule some time elapsed before a
betrothed virgin was formally given in marriage and taken to her husband’s
house…During this time (living together) did not take place, though the
marriage contract was legal and binding…(Mary’s) situation was not only
delicate, but the most distressing and humiliating which could fall to the lot
of a pure maiden. Knowing herself to be
innocent of even the slightest transgression in deed, and fully convinced of
the fact that her condition was due only to the supernatural working of the
Holy Ghost, she nevertheless could expect no one to believe her defense, should
she attempt one.”
Then
there is Joseph “being a just man” he wanted to divorce her quietly. Keep it out of the papers and the town
gossip. He wished no harm on Mary.
His
wife is pregnant and he’s not the father.
This is a tough moment in his life.
And get this: God designs all of
it. This is the Christmas presence of
God. He is in the womb of Mary. Who in the world is going to believe this?
Such
a sweet and tender story, unless you are the one living it. We know the outcome and so did God – before
it happened. It is the presence of God
for the hard moments.
Are
you having a hard moment? Or, is it
moments? They are part of the tapestry
of living in a sinful world. In spite of
our optimism we travel from one difficulty to another – or so it seems. Anyone here not have life push you up against
a wall and maybe bash your head a time or two?
Jesus
told us, “In the world you will have trouble.” (Jn. 16:33) Paul and Barnabas assured us, “We must go
through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22b) Troubles…hardships…who wants to dwell on
those?
George
Orwell observed, “Men can be happy only when they do not assume that the object
of life is happiness.” If being happy
all the time is your goal in this world you are due for a crash. Everything is fleeting.
Why? Because of our sin. You and I have a terrible inability to live
as God designed us to live – in perfect harmony with Him. There is no “utopia” out there even as man
continues his search. Joseph must have
felt this, do you?
Look
at the Christmas presence of God for Joseph.
He comes to him in a dream and tells him to take Mary home as his wife
and she will give birth to a son and God gives him the name – Jesus. This is the big reveal party. It’s a boy and I’ve got his name. Talk about the Christmas presence of
God. This child is going to save people
from their sins. The Presence of God
enters this fallen and self-destructing world in the person and work of God’s
only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He was made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of
God. Mary had this presence. Joseph had this presence and did as the angel
of the Lord commanded. For legal
purposes Jesus was Joseph’s son. He
would have other children and with the loving presence of God he would be a
wonderful parent. It all started here
when it all looked so dark and dreary.
When
we have hard moments sometimes all we see are dark and dreary. The future is cloudy. What now Lord? First, he forgives our sins and our doubts
about His care. He is there, even if we
don’t always see Him. To be forgiven
gives us comfort as we hear the Word and partake of the Holy Sacrament. The hard moments are only temporary. You know as well as I do we don’t stay there
forever. An eternal home awaits where our
eyes can see the presence of God. Look
the Lord. I’m home!
You
may receive some wonderful gifts this Christmas – hey, look new underwear – but
no matter how grand and glorious, even if it’s parked in the garage, nothing
compares to the greatest present. It is
something with you every waking moment of your life – THE CHRISTMAS PRESENCE OF
GOD.
AMEN.